Electroplating racks



Sept. 13, 1966 w. E. BELKE ELEGTROPLATING RACKS 2 Sheets-$heet 1 Filed April 15, 1963 iigqi/e BY QM ZZzaz// Sept. 13, 1966 w. E. BELKE 3,272,733

ELECTROPLATING RACKS Filed April 15, 1963 2 Sheets-$heet 2 do i? @4 INVENTOR.

United States Patent 3,272,733 ELECTROPLATING RACKS William E. Eellre, Chicago, 1111.; Lester 1L. Linquist and Ralph E. Eelke, executors of said William E. Beike, aleceased, assignors to Belke Manufacturing Company,

Chicago, 1111., a corporation of Illinois Filed Apr. 15, 1963, Ser. No. 272,891 13 tClaims. (C1. 204-297) The present invention relates to electroplating racks and is particularly concerned with racks of the type including a supporting spine and one or more article supporting tips for carrying the articles to be electroplated.

One of the objects of the invention is the provision of of an article supporting tip which is adapted to the usual supporting spine and which is adapted to be quickly attached or quickly detached manually without the use of any tools of any kind, and which is adapted to be shaped with the hands or any bending tool into various shapes for accommodating various types of articles to be supported thereby.

Another object is the provision of an improved type of supporting tip for articles to be electroplated, which is simple in construction, adapted to be economically manufactured, which has a minimum number of parts, and which is adaptable to the support of many different kinds of articles.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description, and the accompanying drawings, in which similar characters of reference indicate similar parts throughout the several views.

Referring to the two sheets of drawings accompanying this specification:

FIG. 1 is a view in perspective of a spine for an electroplating rack, equipped with five different types of quickly attachable and quickly detachable finger units which may be used to support various kinds of articles to be electroplated.

FIG. 2 is a side elevctional View of the spine with the finger units removed;

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of the spine when equipped with the finger units of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a rear elevational view of the same;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary front elevational view of a portion of the spine of FIG. 2, on the plane of the line 5--5 of FIG. 2, looking in the direction of the arrows; and

FIG. 6 is a sectional view, taken on the plane of the line 6-6 of FIG. 3, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring to FIG. 1, 111 indicates in its entirety, a spine of electrically conductive metal, such as copper, having a bare hook at its upper end for support on a bus rod above a container for electroplating solution into which the elongated body depends. The body 11 carries a plurality of forwardly projecting stirrups 12 to 16, each of which has a rear flat yoke 17, and a pair of forwardly projecting flanges 18, 19 extending at right angles to the yoke 17. The yoke may be spot welded to the spine body 111, but it is preferably secured to the body 11 by a plurality of bolts or rivets 211, 21, extending through the body and through the yoke, and the rivet heads project forwardly from the yoke, providing downwardly facing shoulders 22, 23, which are used in engaging the detachable fingers, further to be described.

The flanges 18, 19 are bent inwardly at right angles at 24, 25, forming inwardly extending flanges 26, 27, on each stirrup 12 to 16, and each flange 26, 27 has its ends bevelled upward at 28, 29, for a purpose further to be described.

The spine 10 and its body 11 and all the stirrups 12 to 16 are covered overall by a thick coating of initially plastic electrical insulation, except the hook 30, at the top which is left bare for connection to the supporting bus r0 The flanges 18, 19 are provided with a pair of aligned cylindrical bores, after coating with insulation, leaving the bores 31, 32 bare for electrical connection to a threaded rod 33 having threaded end portions 34, 35, which are engaged by nuts 36, 37, outside the flanges 18, 19, and the rod 33 is bare for electrical connection to the fingers engaging it. Contact can also be made by fingers 48, 49 against the projecting rivets 22, 23 when they have been stripped of insulation. Likewise contact can be made against points 28, 29 on the stirrups, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, at the points 28 and 29. The spine supports a plurality of resilient spring wire fingers 40 to 44 incl. and these fingers are quickly attachable and quickly detachable with respect to the spine 10. Each of the finger units 40 to 44 has a rear yoke, and a pair of forwardly projecting legs 46, 47, which extend at substantially right angles to the yoke 45, and approximately parallel to each other.

Each of the finger units 40 to 44 has its legs 46, 47 bent downwardly at an obtuse angle at 48, 49 above the rod 33, over which the legs 46, 47 extend. Each of the finger units 40 to 44 has its legs bent outwardly at an obtuse angle at 50, 51, forming a retaining shoulder for engaging the bevelled end surfaces 28, 29. By providing the bevelled ends 28, 29, this compensates for manufacturing variations caused by inaccuracies in bending the fingers, size of wire, stiffness of wire, etc. Finger unit 40 is an example of the shape of the unit which may be sold in this shape, leaving the user to bend the end portions which are straight in unit 40, but which the user may fashion according to his own ends.

In finger unit 41, the end portions 52, 53 have been bent upward parallel to each other for supporting a sleeve to be electroplated. In finger unit 42, the ends have been bent outward and provided with a pair of upwardly open V-shaped hooks for supporting other articles.

In finger unit 43 the ends are provided with oppositely open U-shaped hooks for engaging other articles, and in unit 44 the ends are bent, one to extend upward and the other downward, to suit the purposes of the user.

The mode of attaching the finger units is as follows: The yoke 45 of a finger unit is located with its yoke under the downwardly facing shoulders 22, 23 and with the bends 49, 48 above one of the rods 33. The legs 46, 47 are then compressed together by pressure on their outer ends and simultaneously the legs are pressed downward until they can be seated on the bevelled surfaces 28, 29, when the legs are released and left secured on the stirrup. They are removed by exerting a reverse pressure and moving them upward.

Thus the present finger units are quickly attachable and quickly detachable, and they may be bent to serve the purpose of the user and used over and over again.

While I have illustrated a preferred embodiment of my invention, many modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, and I do not wish to be limited to the precise details of construction set forth, but desire to avail myself of all changes within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is:

1. An electroplating rack assembly comprising a rack spine having a bare hook at its upper end and having an elongated vertical depending body provided on one side with an outwardly projecting U-shaped stirrup, said stirrup having a pair of forwardly projecting flanges, joined by a yoke, said yoke being secured to the front of said spine with its flanges extending horizontally from the vertical body, said yoke being secured to said spine by a pair of headed members extending through the yoke and spine and having the heads of said bevelled members located on the inner side of the yoke between the flanges thereof, said flanges being turned inward toward each other and having an upwardly bevelled end surface, the said spine and its attachments being covered overall with an initially plastic insulating compound, except at the upper bare hook, the said stirrup having its flanges provided with a pair of aligned bores exposing bare metal in said bores and the bores receiving an electrically conducting threaded bolt, and aquickly attachable finger unit adapted to support and conduct current between the spine and articles to be electroplated, comprising a resilient bendable wire having a U-shaped body with a pair of legs projecting outwardly from a joining yoke, said yoke being engaged below the shoulders formed by said heads and the legs passing over the said bolt and the said legs being sprung together manually and pressed downward until the legs are located below said upwardly bevelled end surface on each flange, the legs springing outwardly under the bevelled end surfaces and pressing against the ends of the flanges to be retained on the spine in good electrical conduction therewith.

2. An electroplating rack assembly according to claim 1, each leg of the wire unit being bent into a shape appropriate by the user for engaging one or more articles to be carried thereby and to be electroplated.

3. An electroplating rack assembly according to claim 1, each leg having a bend downward, forwardly of the yoke to permit the legs to extend over said bolt and under said upwardly bevelled surfaces on said flange.

4. An electroplating rack assembly according to claim 1, each leg having an outward bend forwardly of the bolt forming a retaining portion on the wire legs to extend below the ends of the said flanges.

5. An electroplating rack assembly according to claim 1, each wire leg having an upward bend and terminating in a pair of upwardly extending ends to support articles hung thereon.

6. An electroplating rack assembly according to claim 1, each of said legs being bent outwardly forwardly of their engagement with said flanges, and each leg terminating in a V-shaped article supporting end.

7. An electroplating rack assembly according to claim 1, the said wire legs being bent outwardly, forward of said flanges and terminating in an oppositely open pair of opposed U-shaped prongs.

8. An electroplating rack assembly according to claim 1, one of said legs being bent downwardly and the other being bent upwardly forward of said flanges, and terminating in opposite directed U-shaped prongs with one downwardly directed and the other upwardly directed.

9. An electroplating rack comprising an elongated spine covered overall with insulating compound and having a stirrup extending forwardly from the spine and secured thereto at the yoke thereof, said stirrup also having an insulating covering, except at the bare surface in a pair of aligned bores, said bores receiving a cylindrical conducting member secured therein in conducting relation to the inner surface of said bores for engaging conductively a resilient quickly attachable U-shaped finger to support articles to be electroplated, said stirrup having a downwardly facing shoulder on said spine inside the yoke of the stirrup and the stirrup having its ends bent inwardly toward each other and the said ends being bevelled upwardly to hold the U-shaped finger by springing out against said ends.

10. An electroplating rack comprising an elongated spine covered overall with insulating compound and having a stirrup extending forward from the spine and secured thereto at the yoke thereof, said stirrup also having an insulating covering, and the spine and stirrup being bare at predetermined surfaces for electrical connection, said stirrup having a pair of aligned bores and having a transverse joining member secured in said bores, a resilient quickly attachable U-shaped finger for supporting articles to be electroplated, said stirrup having a. downwardly facing shoulder on said spine inside the yoke of the stirrup, said finger having a yoke engaging said downwardly facing shoulder and said finger having its ends extending forwardly over said joining member, said stirrup having its ends bent inwardly toward each other and the ends being bevelled upwardly, said finger having its ends sprung apart after passing over said joining member and the finger ends engaging the bevelled ends to be retained on said stirrup.

11. An electroplating rack according to claim 10 in which the downwardly facing shoulder on said spine is bared to establish electrical connection between the finger and the spine.

12. An electroplating rack according to claim 10, in which the transverse joining member is bare to establish electrical connection between the finger and the spine.

13. An electroplating rack according to claim 10, in which the bevelled end surfaces of the stirrup are bare to establish electrical connection between the finger and the spine.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,533,805 4/1925 Oliver 204297 2,652,359 9/ 1953 Schneider 204-297 2,847,377 8/1958 Stroinski 204297 3,042,605 7/1962 Belke 204-297 JOHN H. MACK, Primary Examiner.

D. R. JORDAN, Assistant Examiner. 

1. AN ELECTROPLATING RACK ASSEMBLY COMPRISING A RACK SPINE HAVING A BARE HOOK AT ITS UPPER END AND HAVING AN ELONGATED VERTICAL DEPENDING BODY PROVIDED ON ONE SIDE WITH AN OUTWARDLY PROJECTING U-SHAPED STIRRUP, SAID STIRRUP HAVING A PAIR OF FORWARDLY PROJECTING FLANGES, JOINED BY A YOKE, SAID YOKE BEING SECURED TO THE FRONT OF SAID SPINE WITH ITS FLANGES EXTENDING HORIZONTALLY FROM THE VERTICAL BODY, SAID YOKE BEING SECURED TO SAID SPINE BY A PAIR OF HEADED MEMBERS EXTENDING THROUGH THE YOKE AND SPINE AND HAVING THE HEADS OF SAID BEVELLED MEMBERS LOCATED ON THE INNER SIDE OF THE YOKE BETWEEN THE FLANGES THEREOF, SAID FLANGES BEING TURNED INWARD TOWARD EACH OTHER, AND HAVING AN UPWARDLY BEVELLED END SURFACE, THE SAID SPINE AND ITS ATTACHMENTS BEING COVERED OVERALL WITH AN INITIALLY PLASTIC INSULATING COMPOUND, EXCEPT AT THE UPPER BARE HOOK, THE SAID STIRRUP HAVING ITS FLANGES PROVIDED WITH A PAIR OF ALIGNED BORES EXPOSING BARE METAL IN SAID BORES AND THE BORES RECEIVING AN ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTING THREADED BOLT, AND A QUICKLY ATTACHABLE FINGER UNIT ADAPTED TO SUPPORT AND CONDUCT CURRENT BETWEEN THE SPINE AND ARTICLES TO BE ELECTROPLATED, COMPRISING A RESILIENT BENDABLE WIRE HAVING A U-SHAPED BODY WITH A PAIR OF LEGS PROJECTING OUTWARDLY FROM A JOINING JOKE, SAID YOKE BEING ENGAGED BELOW THE SHOULDERS FORMED BY SAID HEADS AND THE LEGS PASSING OVER THE SAID BOLT AND THE SAID LEGS BEING SPRUNG TOGETHER MANUTALLY AND PRESSED DOWNWARD UNTIL THE LEGS ARE LOCATED BELOW SAID UPWARDLY BEVELLED END SURFACE ON EACH FLANGE, THE LEGS SPRINGING OUTWARDLY UNDER THE BEVELLED END SURFACES AND PRESSING AGAINST THE ENDS OF THE FLANGES TO BE RETAINED ON THE SPINE IN GOOD ELECTRICAL CONDUCTION THEREWITH. 